Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after being transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest paid football player in the world.

A much-vaunted prodigy when snapped up by Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, Ronaldo is now perhaps, apart from David Beckham, the best-known player on the planet.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

The FIFA World Player of the Year in 2008 and a winger who plundered an unbelievable 42 goals across all competitions in 2007-08, Ronaldo will be expected to do what he has yet to do - and light up an international tournament.

After winning all there was to win with the Red Devils, Ronaldo finally earned his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a world record fee of £80 million as part of the new era of galacticos at the Bernabeu.

The tricky winger made his debut for Portugal in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan in 2003 and was named in the squad for Euro 2004, held in Portugal, and was named in the team of the tournament.

He had the chance to come of age at the 2006 World Cup, though one of the memorable images of the tournament was his wink at the bench after Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney was sent off in a game against England. He also came in for fierce criticism for diving, which resulted in him being booed at games and it cost him the Young Player of the Tournament award.

He only scored one goal at Euro 2008, but after former Manchester United assistant coach took over with Portugal, Ronaldo has been named captain, though some would argue he is not their most influential player.

Strengths: Fast and tricky, Ronaldo possesses a thunderous dipping, swerving shot and is one of the most dangerous set-piece exponents in the game.

Weaknesses: Goes to ground far too easily which attracts the ire of supporters.

Career high: Winning the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008, and subsequently being named FIFA's World Player of the Year.

Career low: The negative publicity about his "simulation" cost him the best young player gong at Germany 2006.

Style: Ronaldo will take on any defender with searing pace, and mesmerising footwork to boot. His ability to beat a player and whip in crosses makes him a feared opponent. Add to that the way his free-kicks swerve with pace and power and this winger would be an asset to any team, past and present.

Quotes: "I have nothing but praise for the boy. He is easily the best player in the world. He is better than Kaka and better than Messi. He is streets ahead of them all. His contribution as a goal threat is unbelievable. His stats are incredible. Strikes at goal, attempts on goal, raids into the penalty box, headers. It is all there. Absolutely astounding." Sir Alex Ferguson, July 2009.

Trivia: Cristiano's name Ronaldo came from his father's favorite actor, Ronald Reagan.

Soccernet says: It is time for Ronaldo to truly live up to his star billing on the world stage.